Fastener for shoe laces or the like



' Aug. 4, 1936. o. B. VOIT ET AL FASTENER FOR SHOE LACES OR THE LIKE Filed April 4, 1935 Patented Aug. 4, 1936 FASTENER FOR SHOE LACES OR THE LIKE Oscar B. 'Voit and Anthony Vanacore,

New Haven, "Conn.

Application April 4, 1935, Serial No. 14,618

4 Claims; (01. 241'43) In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe provided with a lace having our improvements applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a view of the lace detached from the shoe;

Fig. 3 is a top plan viewof the button or tip applied "to the lower end of the lace;

Fig. 4 is asectional view on line 3-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the tip applied to the lace;

Fig. 6' Ba sectional view taken at right angles to the View shown in Fig. 5;

This invention relates to fasteners or tips for shoe laces or the like and more particularly to devices of this character for use upon an elastic shoe lace, so that when once placed in the shoe and secured, the shoe may be taken off and put on without unfastening the lace, the elasticity of the latter enabling this to be done.

Ihe invention relates particularly to a stop or button of novel form designed to be attached to the lower end of the lace and of such a size that it may not pass through the eyelet of the shoe, and a hook-like fastener designed to be applied to the upper or free end of the lace and hooked into the eyelet in such a manner that in the ordinary use of the shoe or other article of wearing apparel towhich the lace may be applied, it will remain in this position. .It is desirable to provide a fastener at the lower end of the lace which may be secured in fixed position upon the lace and at the same time be substantially flat and occupy very little space so as .not to make an unsightly bulge in the shoe nor be uncomfortable to the wearer. The fastener at the upper end of the lace should be readily adjusted thereon so that when first applied it may be adjusted to the desired position, depending upon the length of lace required, and when once adjusted, should be so constructed as to maintain its position upon the lace without slipping.

One object of the invention is the provision of a fastener or tip for the lower end of a shoe lace which will occupy a substantially flat position and be economical to manufacture.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lace tip of the character described which may be readily applied to the lower end of a shoe lace and secured thereto so that it will not slip from the end of the lace.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a tip of hook-like formation for theupper end of the lace, the tip being of a character which will be economical to manufacture and which will be "adjustable upon the lace but will maintain its position thereon once the adjustment is made.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a hook-like tip for the upper end of a lace for shoes or other articles of wearing apparel which may be adjustably secured in position upon the lace and which will be economical to manufacture and may be easily applied and adjusted to the proper position.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described.

Fig. '7

is a side elevational view of the hook used at the free or upper end of the lace;

Fig. 8 is a View showing the under side of the tip shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing a lower 'end thereof.

It will be understood that the lace M is elastic, so. that when the lace has once been placed in position and adjusted to the desired length, the elasticity of the lace will permit the uppers of the shoe to be pulled apart to a sufficient extent to permit the shoe to be taken off and put on without the necessity of unfastening the lace.

The tip or fastener I3 is, as shown more especial-ly in Figs. 3 to 6, of disk-like formation comprising a flat disk or body member 14 having a 'strip adjacent its central portion struck upwardly therefrom to form a bridge member I5,

leaving an opening It in the disk therebelow. The body portion of the bridge member I5 is spaced upwardly from'the disk I4 so as to leave a space therebetween through which the lace ll may be inserted, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

After the lace has been inserted, the bridge member 15 is depressed downwardly adjacent its central portion, as shown at I! in Figs. 5 and 6. This may be done very economically by a single blow of a proper tool, and the central portion of the member I5 is carried downwardly to a sufficient extent to force the lace into the opening The lace is thus clamped securely between 'T OFFHCE the edges of this opening and the member l5 so that there is no likelihood of any slippage of the tip or button I 3. Moreover, it will be apparent that the button will lie substantially flat so that it will not only be comfortable to the wearer but will not make an unsightly bulge upon the exterior of the shoe. It will also be noted that when the lace is in place, the button will lie in a plane substantially at right angles to the end of the lace.

The tip or fastener I 2 used at the upper or free end of the lace consists of a hook-like member having a substantially plane fiat body portion l8. The end of the member is turned or bent over, as shown at I9, to form a hook, and as shown more especially in Fig. 8, this member is tapered in width 50 that the hook end is substantially narrower than the opposite end. This provides a body portion sufficiently wide to accommodate the openings for the lace and at the same time provides a hook end sufficiently small to readily enter the eyelets of the shoe. The hook portion I9 is bent in a direction at right angles to the plane of the body l8, so that when the tip is in its operative position, the body portion will lie flat against the shoe.

As shown in Fig. 8, the body portion l8 of the tip is provided with openings 20 and 2| through which the lace is inserted. These openings are preferably somewhat smaller than the width of the lace, if a fiat lace is employed, so that when the lace has been inserted through both openings, there will be no danger of the hook slipping longitudinally of the lace from the position to which it is adjusted.

In Fig. 9 of the drawing we have shown a somewhat modified form of the fastener or tip at the u per end of the lace. In this instance, the body of the fastener is provided with a portion 22 of constant width adjacent its rear end, beyond which the edges of the body taper, as shown at 23, to form a relatively small hook end 24; In this instance, the fastener is provided with a front opening 25 which may be of substantially circular shape, and a rear opening 26 having a wide portion 27 at the rear end thereof and a rounded or somewhat V-shaped forward portion 28. In this case, when the lace is passed through the openings 25 and 26, the wide rear portion of the opening 26 will receive the lace in its. normal flat condition. When, however, tension is applied to the lace, as when in use, it will be crowded forwardly into the smaller restricted portion 28 of the opening 26 where it will bind tightly so as to prevent any likelihood of slippage.

It will be understood that the lace will be applied to the shoe with the tip 13 secure in position thereon. The lower end of the lace will be inserted through one of the lower eyelets of the shoe from the underside so that the tip l3 will lie below the upper of the shoe. The lace is then passed across to the opposite eyelet, and after being inserted therethrough is brought diagonally upward to the next higher eyelet, through which it is inserted from the under side and then brought across through the opposite eyelet, etc. When the shoe has been completely laced, the hook-like fastener I2 is adjusted to the proper position to hook into the last of the upper eyelets when the lace is tight. When the upper or hooklike fastener has been adjusted to this position, the end of the lace is out ofi, as shown at 29, so that no free end of the lace will remain. It will, of course, be apparent that when the lace is cut oil in this way, it is essential to provide against any slippage of the upper fastener. When the shoe has once been laced, the lace remains in place, and by reason of its capacity to stretch, permits sufiicient freedom of the uppers of the shoe to allow the latter to be taken oil and put on.

While we have shown and described some preferred embodiments of our invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A tip for shoe laces comprising a substantially fiat metallic member having its forward end bent transversely to the plane of the member to form a hook, whereby the body portion of the tip will lie in a substantially flat position when the tip is in place, the body portion of said tip being provided with a pair of spaced openings through which the lace may be inserted, and said member being tapered in width from the rear end thereof toward the hook end to provide a hook of rela tively narrow width to be received in the eye of the shoe.

2. A tipfor shoe laces comprising a substantially fiat metallic member having its forward end bent transversely to the plane of the member to form a hook, whereby the body portion of the tip will lie in a substantially fiat position when the tip is in place, the body portion-of said tip being provided with a pair of spaced openings through which the lace may be inserted and returned, and the hook end of said member being reduced in width relatively to the remainder of the member.

3. A tip for shoe laces comprising a substantially flat metallic member having its forward end bent transversely to the plane of the member to form a hook, whereby the body portion of the tip will lie in a substantially flat position when the tip is in place, the body portion of said tip being provided with a pair of spaced openings through which the lace may be inserted, one of said openings being relatively wide adjacent its rear end and having a narrowed portion adjacent its front end, and said member being tapered in width toward the hook end to provide a hook of narrow width to be received in the eye of the shoe.

4. A shoe lace tip according claim 3 characterized' by the fact that the opening remote from the hook is provided with wide and narrow portions. V

' OSCAR B. VOIT.

ANTHONY VANACORE. 

